Reconnecting To A Cousin

A couple of days ago my sister forwarded me an email. It was from one of my cousins who I hadn’t talked to in a long time. The email contained a link to a New York theatrical review of an off Broadway play. My cousin’s son (my 2nd cousin) is an actor in the play that was reviewed. His performance got some very positive words from the critic. Neil Genzlinger wrote that my 2nd cousin “gives an attention-grabbing performance”…”It’s too bad he has the smallest part in the play; you end up wanting to see more of him.”

All of this came as a surprise to me. I hadn’t even realized just how grown his son was let alone that he was old enough to have graduated from college and a working actor. But this is a member of my family getting a positive review in the New York Times theater section. That’s very impressive.

I soon realized that the time I’ve been out of touch with my cousin has really passed extremely quickly. The last time I can remember even seeing him was at my mother’s funeral over 5 years ago. I decided to email my cousin in effort to initiate a reconnection with him.

He wrote back to me and was glad to hear from me. As it turns out his entire family is involved in acting in the theater to one degree or another.

I believe his interest in acting and my interest in ventriloquism will give us a common ground on which to build a new connection. Not only are my cousin and I connected by family we have, to some degree, a common passion. I am very optimistic about this long over due reconnection with a member of my family.